Heatherpaw's Struggle
by Stormwhisper
Summary: Heatherpaw has finally left her friendship with Lionpaw behind, but will it really be that easy?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **This is a story written about Heatherpaw after the events of Dark River. There are spoilers for Dark River in this story, and if you don't want to know what happens, please don't read this story.

Heatherpaw sat silently in the apprentices den, her head hanging low. There was a cold rabbit sitting before her head, but she ignored it. Many WindClan cats would gladly have had the rabbit in her place, but Heatherpaw didn't have much of an appetite at that moment. There was too much going on in her mind.

Barely a quarter moon had passed since she had parted ways with Lionpaw for the final time, and nothing felt right anymore. Heatherpaw understood now that they couldn't be friends, and that their Clans had to come first, no matter what. But a small voice at the back of her head urged her to go to Lionpaw, to become his friend once again, to continue their adventures together. And though the voice was quiet now, it was growing louder and louder.

"Aren't you hungry, Heatherpaw?" Breezepaw asked, his eyes boring into her. Breezepaw was a sharp-tongued tom, much like his father, but he had been strangely kind lately. He seemed to be actually _concerned _about Heatherpaw.

"No," Heatherpaw replied quietly.

"Whitetail is taking me out to have battle training at sunhigh," Breezepaw said. "Would you like to come with? It wouldn't take Whitetail long to convince Crowfeather to come with us."

"I'd rather not," Heatherpaw snapped. She understood that Breezepaw only meant well, but the tom was really getting on her nerves.

"Fine," Breezepaw said curtly. "If you change your mind, though, I'll be under the Great Oak."

Heatherpaw sighed, feeling guiltier than before. Hurting Breezepaw wasn't her intention, but it seemed inevitable. She wasn't going to leave camp to go training unless Crowfeather asked her to, but until then, she was just going to keep to herself.

_Life goes on._

Heatherpaw thought of the expression she had heard many times before, and couldn't help but think of how false it really was. Life isn't worth living without joy, and joy can only be achieved when you're doing what you want to do. Heatherpaw wanted nothing more than to be with Lionpaw at that moment.

Moving on was more difficult than she could ever have imagined. Whenever she tried to distract herself from the image of the golden tabby, he returned. It was like she was battling against herself, fighting to regain control of where her heart lay. And, with a pang of sadness, she realized that the battle was already lost. She was in need of a new saying, something to explain how she felt in that moment.

_Life can't go on._


	2. Chapter 2

Days continued to pass slowly for Heatherpaw.

Her mentor, Crowfeather, often asked her to go out to train or patrol, and she agreed. But Heatherpaw could never focus on the task at hand, and she wouldn't have been surprised if Crowfeather simply stopped trying.

Other apprentices were beating her easily at battle training, using her slow moves and lack of concentration against her. When she hunted, even rabbits that were slow and ran without caution evaded her claws. Crowfeather would sometimes punish her for her sloppiness by instructing her to clean out the elder's den, but even that was a difficult feat for her. She missed many obvious ticks that covered their pelts, and the moss she brought back for their bedding was often rotten and useless.

Breezepaw had even stopped trying to coax her out of her strange behaviour. Though Heatherpaw had once been an active and fun-loving cat, the cat that Breezepaw had initially become friends with, no trace of that cat seemed to remain in Heatherpaw now. Nothing was the same anymore.

One night, however, a different cat tried to change her mind.

Heatherpaw dreamed of Lionpaw often, though they were constantly nightmares. She would call out to him, beg for him to return to her. And he would only walk away, or perhaps tell her that it was all for the best, that now he could be a warrior. It wasn't uncommon for Lionpaw to laugh at her and leave her in tears, but when Heatherpaw awoke, it only made it worse that she knew Lionpaw would never do something like that. It only hurt more when she thought about his perfection.

So when one night she found herself in ThunderClan territory, she was not surprised at all. Though in the dreaming world she always forgot that Lionpaw was gone, on this night she was prepared to see him leave. Which was what made it all the more strange when a different cat came to her, smelling of WindClan, not ThunderClan.

The tom before her was black and white, and had a strangely long tail. The description reminded Heatherpaw of some cat, but she couldn't quite remember when she had heard this cat described.

"Welcome, Heatherpaw," the tom meowed. "Would you like to come with me? I want to show you something."

Heatherpaw nodded, confused. She was uncertain of why, but something about this tom made her calm and comfortable. Although she was in ThunderClan territory now, the tom before her made her feel like it was almost home.

The undergrowth was swamped in silver moonlight, and the tom suddenly threw himself into it at an amazing speed. Heatherpaw dashed after him, surprised by his speed. He was certainly a WindClan cat, and a strong one at that. Even Crowfeather could not match the speed at which this cat was running.

The undergrowth disappeared suddenly, opening to open ground. At the bottom of the slope there was a pool of water, and it was surrounded by paw prints, both new and ancient.

_Moonpool!_ Heatherpaw realized suddenly. The tom she was following was still moving, but she had frozen. Recognizing the pool of water had helped her to discover who the tom she was following really was.

"Tallstar?" Heatherpaw asked in a choked voice.

The tom stopped and turned around, smiling. "Yes, Heatherpaw. I am Tallstar, former leader of WindClan. I have come to show you something."

Heatherpaw followed him faster now, losing any caution that might have slowed her down before. Tallstar was known as a great leader of WindClan, the one that had led them to peace with all the Clans, aided them in the Great Journey to what was now her home. He had awarded Onestar with leadership instead of Mudclaw, who WindClan soon discovered to be evil.

Tallstar stopped at the edge of the pool of water and gazed into it. Heatherpaw stopped just beside him, and gazed into the pool of water. It didn't look very special at first, and Heatherpaw wondered at first what Tallstar was looking at. But then suddenly, it changed.

Instead of just the reflections of Tallstar and Heatherpaw, there were suddenly hundreds of cats visible in the pool. Some were old and some young, but they were all looking at Tallstar and Heatherpaw. Wisdom glowed in the eyes of each of them.

"Heatherpaw, I have brought you here tonight to meet Feathertail," Tallstar said. As he spoke the words, one of the cats in the pool broke away from the others, and was suddenly standing beside Heatherpaw. She knew that it was a dream, but this was still incredible.

"Heatherpaw, I came to talk to you about Lionpaw," Feathertail meowed softly. Though Feathertail had died before Heatherpaw had even been born, Heatherpaw had heard a lot about her. Heatherpaw in particular knew a lot about Feathertail, because her mentor, Crowfeather, had been in love with her.

"I understand the difficulty you're having in forgetting him," Feathertail continued, her voice still soft and kind. "And in truth, you should never forget him. He's a wonderful cat, and the time you spent together was amazing, wasn't it?"

Heatherpaw nodded silently.

"But now you must move on. In particular, I can understand the difficulty that you're having. Though I never had to do anything like it, I watched another cat move on after I had died."

"Crowfeather," Heatherpaw meowed quietly, her voice shocked.

"Yes," Feathertail told her. "But he did get past it. He never forgot me, but he moved on. Of course, a better example would be Leafpool, but she is not here to speak to you."

Heatherpaw nodded slowly, beginning to understand.

"I'm not telling you to forget him," Feathertail said quietly. "Just… Just try to remember that he isn't the only cat in your life."

Heatherpaw nodded. "Thank you," she said to Feathertail, and then Tallstar.

"You're welcome, Heatherpaw," Tallstar meowed, and then he and Feathertail returned to the Moonpool.


	3. Chapter 3

Three days had passed since Tallstar had visited Heatherpaw.

In the past three days, Heatherpaw had made amazing improvements. When she focused, she was actually a good hunter. Going on patrols was easy as well, though it should have never been a problem for someone like her. And the training was the best part—she was stronger and faster than most of the other apprentices, thanks partly to the time she spent with Lionpaw.

One morning, just as dawn arrived, Ashfoot popped her head into the apprentices den. "Heatherpaw, would you like to come on the dawn patrol? We need one more cat."

"I'd love to," Heatherpaw meowed cheerily, hopping out of her nest. She had already been awake, as Breezepaw had gotten up to get himself something from the fresh-kill pile.

The patrol consisted of Ashfoot, the deputy, Crowfeather, Whitetail, Weaselfur and Heatherpaw. Heatherpaw was impressed by the size and strength of the cats who had been chosen for the patrol, but not surprised. Ever since their almost-battle with both RiverClan and ThunderClan—all thanks to her—WindClan had been reinforcing their borders. Everyone was being over-cautious with RiverClan.

"I see you're feeling better, Heatherpaw," Whitetail commented. Normally, she might not have noticed Heatherpaw's change in behaviour. But because Breezepaw had badgered her so often to allow them to train together, she must have noticed the absence of Breezepaw's pleas.

"Yes," Heatherpaw agreed immediately.

The patrol moved quickly and went smoothly down the border of RiverClan. There was no sign of disturbance, and all the cats in the patrol knew that no one was concerned about ThunderClan.

"Crowfeather, Heatherpaw, why don't you go hunting," Ashfoot meowed. "We can handle the ThunderClan border."

Crowfeather nodded, as did Heatherpaw. Eager to show off her hunting skills for her mentor, which she hadn't done since Lionpaw's departure, Heatherpaw dashed happily across the moor. Almost immediately, a plump rabbit came into view. With a quick smile, Heatherpaw dashed after her prey.

Heatherpaw was often chosen for patrols after that day. Her eager attitude toward them made her an easy choice, as well as her skill for speed, which made it easy for her to keep up with older cats who were also on the patrol. She was a true WindClan cat, after all.

"Up for the dawn patrol?" Crowfeather asked her one morning.

Heatherpaw opened her eyes tiredly, surprised to find her mentor asking her the question. Was it not only yesterday and the day that she had been on patrol in the morning, followed by both training and a hunting patrol? She was beginning to feel overworked.

"Sure," Heatherpaw said, but her lack of sleep must have leaked into her voice.

"Are you sure?" Crowfeather asked. "We can do it without you."

"No, I want to," Heatherpaw assured him. "Just let me find a rabbit to eat, and I'll be right there."

Crowfeather smiled, something uncommon for him. Heatherpaw had been surprised by his happiness since she had returned to her old self. He had never acted this good-natured before, and yet now he was being kind. He used to work her hard, but not anymore. He was soft with his training, never pushing her too hard for fear of forcing her back into her strange mood. Crowfeather was eager to continue her training, and he was teaching her much more with every day. Things were working out well for Heatherpaw.

Heatherpaw found a rabbit at the fresh-kill pile. Normally she would wait to see if one of the elders or queens wanted to have it, but there were still many rabbits left from the previous night's hunting patrol, as well as an early morning hunter, by the looks of it. Taking a fresh rabbit, Heatherpaw hurried quickly as Crowfeather and the rest of the patrol prepared to leave.

"We're going to go along the ThunderClan border and then by RiverClan," Crowfeather explained as they began. "Some ThunderClan scents were suspiciously close to our border, and Onestar wants us to make sure that we make our border markers as strong as possible."

Heatherpaw nodded, a bit uneasy. She had no quarrel with ThunderClan, but Lionpaw was a member of the Clan. It made her feel awkward to do something like this, to be suspicious of the Clan that held Lionpaw, her former best friend. Heatherpaw knew that it wasn't right to feel this commitment to Lionpaw, the urge to defend his Clan, but she couldn't not think about it. It was a part of her now.

The patrol walked along the border of ThunderClan, carefully marking every landmark so that ThunderClan would know exactly where to stop. Heatherpaw suspected that it was nothing to worry about, but it had to be done regardless. If not, WindClan might look weak and incapable of defending their borders. If that did happen, they would be vulnerable to an attack.

ThunderClan territory was downwind of them, and it made it harder to detect any cats who may be approaching from the opposite side of the border. It was a weakness that WindClan regretted deeply, but it hadn't been an issue in the past. Now, however, it might pose a threat.

The smell of ThunderClan hit Heatherpaw suddenly, as well as the rest of her patrol. Tornear, the leader of the patrol, pricked his ears and stiffened. Crowfeather tensed at Heatherpaw's side, and Whitetail and Breezepaw both fixed their eyes on the undergrowth just before them. Heatherpaw's eyes darted to the border nervously, hoping against hope that Lionpaw would not be a part of the patrol.

The first cat to appear out of the undergrowth was Brambleclaw, the deputy of ThunderClan. Heatherpaw tensed at the sight of him. He was Lionpaw's father, and Heatherpaw was well aware that Lionpaw used him as an example time and time again when he wanted to get something done right. Brambleclaw was not a cat that would go out of his way to get into a fight.

Coming up beside Brambleclaw was Graystripe, the former deputy of ThunderClan who had been captured by twolegs and had made the journey to their new home with no help but a kittypet he met when he was captured. Graystripe was a brave but fair tom. Heatherpaw knew that they had no quarrel to fear for him unless he believed they were threatening his Clan's well being.

Next came Dustpelt, a ThunderClan tom who they had more to fear from. He had a sharper tongue than even Crowfeather, and had much more experience than Crowfeather. Dustpelt was known for picking fights with other Clans, and had been the famous rival of Firestar when he had first joined ThunderClan and best friend of Sandstorm as apprentices, the future mate of Firestar.

Another warrior presented himself beside Dustpelt, Cloudtail. Heatherpaw almost breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted Cloudtail. He was a fair tom, who did not pick quarrels with other Clans. He was the son of Firestar's sister, Princess, who was a kittypet. Being the son of a kittypet, he gave every cat a fair chance to prove himself.

Finally, two apprentices appeared. The first was Berrypaw, who Heatherpaw did not know very well. She had seen Berrypaw arguing with Breezepaw once, but otherwise she knew nothing about him. Unfortunately, Berrypaw was not the apprentice that interested Heatherpaw.

Standing beside Berrypaw was Hollypaw, Lionpaw's sister. Not as bad as Lionpaw himself, no, but certainly not very good, either. Hollypaw had held a grudge against Heatherpaw the last time they had seen each other, for keeping Lionpaw awake at night and making him feel disloyal to his Clan.

"Tornear," Brambleclaw meowed in greeting, surveying the patrol with suspicion. "You are walking close to the border today, are you not?"

"As are you, _Brambleclaw_," Tornear meowed, emphasizing the tom's name. Heatherpaw wondered if Tornear and Brambleclaw had not fought in the past. Tornear seemed especially hostile toward Brambleclaw.

"Just be certain not to cross it," Brambleclaw meowed, and with a nod, he led his patrol away. Hollypaw glared at Heatherpaw for a moment, giving her a warning look. And then she was gone.

Heatherpaw had felt the tension in the air, and was surprised that no battle had been fought. The hostility between the two Clans had become stronger lately, and though most cats didn't know it, Hollypaw was the only cat with a good reason.

The WindClan patrol remained at the border for a moment longer before Tornear led them on. They continued to mark the border carefully, making sure that ThunderClan would know exactly where the border was. Heatherpaw wouldn't have been surprised if Hollypaw had crossed the border just to bother her and her Clan.

The patrol returned to camp, and Tornear went to visit Onestar and tell him of their encounter with the ThunderClan patrol.

"Heatherpaw, would you like to come hunting with me?" Breezepaw asked her as the patrol broke up.

Heatherpaw thought for a brief moment. She was tired from the patrol, and would do anything for some more sleep. But at the same time… Hunting with Breezepaw was certainly a tempting idea. Breezepaw had been a good friend to her all this time, and she wanted to repay him somehow.

"Hunting sounds great," Heatherpaw meowed with a grin. Breezepaw smiled back at her, and the two apprentices left camp together.


	4. Chapter 4

"Focus, Heatherpaw!"

Heatherpaw stiffened as Crowfeather shouted the words at her. There was anger in his words, but also concern. Heatherpaw's lack of concentration must remind him of when she had been thinking about Lionpaw non-stop. Heatherpaw wanted to tell him that it was untrue, but she knew that it would be disrespectful to say something like that to her mentor.

"Yes, Crowfeather," Heatherpaw replied, forcing her to concentrate more on the fighting move her mentor was trying to teach her.

"Remember, focus your weight on your front paws, and then lash out with your back paws. Knowing your opponent's distance will certainly help later, but right now I want you to just focus on kicking with your hind legs," Crowfeather told her.

Heatherpaw nodded, focusing on repositioning herself. When Crowfeather gave her the word, she lashed out with her hind legs, hitting Crowfeather directly on the back. Crowfeather gave her a painful nod.

"Well done," he said, his voice betraying the pain he felt in his back. "Why don't you take a break? We can continue tomorrow."

Heatherpaw nodded with a smile. Having Crowfeather underestimate her was certainly not flattering, but it made doing the move perfectly feel much more fulfilling than it would have before. Silently, she thanked Breezepaw for distracting her and making her seem less strong than she really was.

In reality, Heatherpaw hadn't been thinking of Lionpaw, as she had been before. Instead, another tom had ruled her mind. Breezepaw.

Breezepaw and Heatherpaw had been spending much more time together lately. Though she had only began speaking to him again instead of ignoring him to bask in memories of Lionpaw half a moon ago, they had become the best of friends since then. Breezepaw and Heatherpaw were rarely seen without each other now, and even when they were not seen, they were together.

As Heatherpaw trotted back into camp cheerfully, she saw Breezepaw sitting with Whitetail, his mentor. Whitetail was speaking to Ashfoot, her voice quiet. But even with Whitetail's hushed voice, Heatherpaw could tell that her voice was serious.

Breezepaw spotted Heatherpaw and, looking excited, said something to Whitetail quickly before dashing off to meet his friend.

"What's going on?" Heatherpaw asked. Breezepaw looked excited, while Ashfoot and Whitetail both looked uneasy and perhaps a bit angry.

"Whitetail's patrol found ThunderClan scent on our side of the border," Breezepaw told her excitedly. "She's just telling Ashfoot now. It sounds like we're going to be fighting ThunderClan very soon!"

Heatherpaw said nothing, feeling sick. Meeting a patrol at the border was one thing, but launching an attack on all of ThunderClan? It was more than likely that she would see Lionpaw, and that they would have to fight.

"Heatherpaw, you're excited, aren't you?" Breezepaw asked. Then understanding shone in his eyes. "You're not thinking about _him_, are you?"

"No, it's just… I've never been in a fight before," Heatherpaw meowed quickly. Breezepaw seemed surprised by how fast she responded, but he seemed to believe her.

Breezepaw nodded understandingly. "This will be my first as well, I suppose. But after all the time we've spent practicing, training to defend our Clan… I guess its all been leading up to this, after all. We're finally going to get to fight to defend our Clan, to protect us."

Heatherpaw nodded with a forced smile. Normally, she'd be acting exactly the same as Breezepaw. But against ThunderClan? She could have to go up against Lionpaw, or perhaps Jaypaw or Hollypaw, his littermates. What if she injured Hollypaw? What if she beat Jaypaw?

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Great Oak for a Clan meeting!" Onestar yowled.

Heatherpaw and Breezepaw both tensed, knowing what was going to happen. Without a word, both of the apprentices walked toward the Great Oak. Though it was used for sharing tongues and socialising, it doubled as a good place to address the Clan from.

Once the Clan had gathered, Onestar began. "Ashfoot has just informed me that ThunderClan cats have been found to have trespassed on our territory. In response to this, we are going to attack their camp."

Yowls of agreement sounded through the camp. Heatherpaw shifted uneasily on her paws as even Breezepaw joined in, eager for bloodshed. It wasn't just that ThunderClan was the Clan they were up against. Heatherpaw wasn't afraid of the battle, but the deaths that may result in it were terrifying.

"Tornear, Crowfeather, Owlwhisker, Weaselfur, Breezepaw and Heatherpaw, you will come with me and launch our attack on ThunderClan," Onestar meowed. "Ashfoot, Whitetail and Nightcloud, I want you to remain here and defend the camp."

The chosen cats moved quickly, leaving immediately to launch their attack. They crossed over into ThunderClan territory without incident, and had soon reached the camp.

"Ready, and…" Onestar meowed slowly. "Attack!"


	5. Chapter 5

The fight began immediately.

Onestar led his cats in through the edges of the hollow that ThunderClan called home. Heatherpaw had been to the camp only once, and she doubted that many of the cats in the Clan had been there more. For this reason, they were not entirely sure where they were attacking.

It was just before sunset when WindClan launched their attack against ThunderClan. It was not quite time for another patrol to go out, but after most of the cats had returned from hunting and training. For this reason, many cats had remained in ThunderClan camp when the attack began.

The WindClan cats broke into the nursery first, though it had not been planned. Two surprised queens—Ferncloud and Daisy—looked at them in shock, but they didn't need to cry out. Onestar's battle cry had been enough to draw every warrior in ThunderClan to the scene, and the battle began.

Individual cats began breaking off into one-on-one fights. Before Heatherpaw had time to find an apprentice of ThunderClan to attack, one had selected her.

The cream-coloured tom rushed at her, unsheathing her claws. Just before he pounced, Heatherpaw identified him as Berrypaw. He was the apprentice of the deputy, Brambleclaw, and the size of a full-grown warrior. Heatherpaw knew it was an uneven fight.

Berrypaw raked his claws down Heatherpaw's side, causing her to cry out in pain. But before Berrypaw could attack her again Heatherpaw had ran from his range of attack, faster than he was able to follow. Though Berrypaw was more muscular, Heatherpaw could use her size and speed to evade him, and trick him into revealing a weakness.

Berrypaw ran at Heatherpaw again, though this time she managed to dodge his attack. Just as Berrypaw was turning to run at Heatherpaw for a third time, Heatherpaw jumped lightly onto his back, digging in with her claws. Berrypaw yelled with pain, but Heatherpaw kept her claws sunk into his pelt.

Berrypaw was trying desperately to free himself when Heatherpaw released him suddenly. Caught off guard, she was thrown off of him, but Berrypaw made no attempt to launch another attack. The scratches were deep. Instead, Berrypaw threw himself out of the fight, to go somewhere where he could rest.

Heatherpaw stared at a fight that was going on between two apprentices. The first was a WindClan apprentice, and Heatherpaw's friend. Breezepaw. The black apprentice was fighting well, using every fighting move that Whitetail had taught him. He was moving quickly, using his opponent's weight and strength against him, just as all WindClan apprentices were taught. But Heatherpaw wasn't all that worried about him.

The ThunderClan apprentice he was up against was Lionpaw.

The golden tom was fighting well, muscles ripping beneath his fur. His strength was not a total disadvantage to him, despite the techniques Breezepaw was using. He was making Breezepaw try to overpower him as much as possible, holding him down so that he could not dash out of the way.

Breezepaw and Lionpaw were quite evenly matched, despite their differences of strengths and weaknesses. The two toms were fighting viciously, looking as if they were trying to rip each other's throats out. Heatherpaw watched them, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach growing and growing.

_I should help him_, Heatherpaw thought guiltily. There were no cats attacking her, and Heatherpaw should have been helping Breezepaw fight his battle, as she knew well. But she couldn't bring herself to fight against Lionpaw. It would be too much for her, wouldn't it?

Heatherpaw felt worse than ever.

_I have moved on, like Feathertail told me,_ Heatherpaw thought. _But I haven't forgotten._

With these thoughts in mind, Heatherpaw turned to another battle. Crowfeather was battling Brambleclaw, both of them growling menacingly. Sparing one last moment for guilt, Heatherpaw launched herself onto Brambleclaw.

_I'm sorry, Breezepaw, _Heatherpaw thought.

The fight soon drew to an end.

"Retreat!" Onestar yowled, victory colouring his voice. Though ThunderClan had chased them from their camp, it had still been a victory. Many cats had been injured on the ThunderClan side of the battle, and few WindClan cats were dead. The initial message of the battle had been heard as well. ThunderClan was not going to get their hands on WindClan territory.

Heatherpaw looked around anxiously, trying to find Breezepaw. The tom had disappeared from her sight after she had attacked Brambleclaw, and since then there had been no sign of him. Heatherpaw searched the WindClan cats, searching for the black apprentice.

"Breezepaw!" Heatherpaw gasped.

Breezepaw was limping tiredly along, trying to keep up with Crowfeather, his father. He had many deep wounds covered his sides and back, and though Heatherpaw could not see in the darkness, she suspected his underbelly would be covered in just such wounds. A very sharp claw had nicked his ear, and his face was scratched up as well.

Breezepaw looked up to see Heatherpaw, the pain clear in his eyes. He looked even more exhausted now that Heatherpaw could see his eyes. He looked horrible.

"Are you okay?" Heatherpaw asked, falling into step beside Breezepaw.

"I'm okay," he said, but his voice was quiet and weak.

"Don't worry, Barkface will take care of you," Heatherpaw meowed, partly to reassure herself.

"I know he will," Breezepaw meowed. "Are we almost there?"

Heatherpaw looked around. They had just crossed over the border to WindClan, and the moor was just opening up before them. WindClan camp was quite close to the border, which was both convenient and inconvenient.

"Very," Heatherpaw meowed.

Breezepaw walked in silence as they got closer and closer to the camp, until finally they had arrived. Heatherpaw noticed that Breezepaw's breathing was fast and shallow, not a good sign.

Barkface was already tending to the wounds of Owlwhisker, but he stopped immediately when he saw Breezepaw."

"Kestrelpaw! I need your help!" Barkface yelled, quickly taking some cobwebs to stop the bleeding.

"I'm busy," Kestrelpaw retorted. He was crouched over Weaselfur, who was just as badly injured, if not more, as Breezepaw.

Barkface's eyes darted to Heatherpaw. "Are you hurt?"

Heatherpaw shook her head immediately.

"Then you must help me," Barkface meowed. "Please, get me more cobwebs and some poppy seeds. This might sting a bit."


	6. Chapter 6

Half a moon had passed since WindClan's battle with ThunderClan, and that night was a full moon.

Since the battle, no WindClan cat had encountered any ThunderClan cats. They patrolled the ThunderClan border constantly and the ThunderClan side of the border was always well marked, but patrols never met each other. Then again, this was probably good news. If they had, a battle would have been more than likely.

Heatherpaw's life was continuing on as normally as it could have been. She tried to ignore her moment of weakness when she had refused to attack Lionpaw, and avoided the guilt she felt when she thought about how much responsibility she held for Breezepaw's injuries.

Breezepaw's injuries were bad, but they could have been worse. Breezepaw was confined to the medicine cat's den for the half moon since the battle, and would still have to remain there for another few days at least. His battle with Lionpaw had left him quite injured, and he had broken a leg, not to mention having gotten some badly infected scratches. Though Barkface assured him that there would be no permanent damage, Breezepaw was just itching to get back to his training.

"All cats old enough to gather their own prey gather beneath Great Oak for a Clan meeting!" Onestar called as night fell, to organize the cats who were going to the gathering.

Heatherpaw looked up, almost surprised. She was sitting in Barkface's den, talking to Breezepaw. Time had passed so quickly since she had first arrived.

"I better go," Heatherpaw meowed. "I'll be back later, though."

Breezepaw nodded, looking disappointed. Heatherpaw knew that he wanted to go to go to the gathering, but it just wasn't possible. Even if Barkface would let him, he'd never be able to make the journey to the island, never mind returning. Besides, he really was exhausted.

"I'll see you soon," Heatherpaw promised as she left the den.

Onestar was already listing names when Heatherpaw got to the clearing in the centre of camp and sat down, listening to the cats who were being included in the night's gathering.

"…and Heatherpaw," Onestar finished, his eyes resting on Heatherpaw.

The she-cat knew that her face should have lit up with a smile and that she should have been more than happy, but Heatherpaw couldn't bring herself to be happy. She knew that hostility would fill the air when they arrived at the gathering, and Lionpaw would probably be there. She would have to face him whether she wanted to or not, and right now, she was leaning towards the latter.

Onestar jumped down from the oak tree, eagerly leading the Clan to the island. Heatherpaw wasn't a mind reader, but she could guess why Onestar was acting so happy. No doubt he was going to tell the other Clans about confronting ThunderClan, tell the tale of how they had injured more ThunderClan cats than WindClan cats had been hurt, though they had been outnumbered.

The journey to the island hadn't taken very long, as all the WindClan cats travelled quickly because of how eager they were to show their victory to the others. When they arrived at the bridge, no other Clan's scent was fresh. They were the first to arrive.

The journey across the tree bridge, however, was much slower. WindClan cats were especially against water, more so than any of the cats from the other Clans. This might have been in relation to their rivalry with RiverClan, the most malnourished Clan against the one with the most food, or perhaps just basic cat instincts. Whatever the case, it caused them to move much slower across the bridge.

The island was quiet, but it did not take long for the other Clans to arrive. First cats of RiverClan showed themselves, most of them wet from having swam across the lake to get to the island, ignoring the bridge that was slow in their eyes. Following the RiverClan cats were the cats of ShadowClan, Blackstar at their head. But even the tension between Blackstar and Onestar was not as strong as it usually was, for Onestar had reserved the best of his aggression for Firestar.

ThunderClan was the last Clan to arrive.

Firestar led them onto the island, his head held high and his eyes avoiding those of Onestar. Without a word to any of the other leaders, he jumped up to the branch beside Onestar, Blackstar and Leopardstar, and yowled for the meeting to begin.

"RiverClan has three new kits to report," Leopardstar began. "They are Streamkit, Leafkit and Nightkit, and their mother is Icewing."

Yowls of encouragement filled the island, along with those of congratulation. Leopardstar nodded her thanks and backed away, allowing Blackstar to take the spotlight.

"In this past moon, we have turned three kits to apprentices," Blackstar announced proudly. "Tigerpaw, Dawnpaw and Flamepaw have all grown to six moons and are now ready to begin their training."

More happy yowls filled the island, but they fell silent as Onestar stepped up to tell the Clans of WindClan's recent moon.

"WindClan has no new births to report, nor any apprentices made in the past moon," Onestar meowed. "However, we did find ThunderClan's scent on our side of the border. In response, we launched an attack on ThunderClan's camp. All cats that were injured in the attack have healed well."

As Onestar stepped down, an eerie silence filled the island. Firestar stepped forward, and the orange tom looked confident, but something else shone in his eyes. Was it really unease, perhaps even fear? Heatherpaw was nothing short of shocked.

"I suppose Onestar has already told you all I have to report," Firestar meowed. "Any cats who might have been injured in the fight have healed perfectly, and we are doing fine."

Without another word, Firestar hopped lightly from the branch. His Clan followed him hurriedly toward the bridge, seeming to be quite eager to leave before any questions could be asked. Heatherpaw watched them go, identifying each pelt that she saw. Lionpaw was not with them.

Onestar was the next to leap from the branch, and called his Clan to him with nothing more than a glance in their direction. Just as silent as ThunderClan had been, WindClan dashed to the bridge, and crossed it without a sound. Even when the island was out of sight and they had almost reached camp, the cats were still silent.

Only when they entered camp did noise return. The cats who had not come with were eager to hear news of how Firestar had responded to Onestar's report to the other Clans, and others just wanted to go to sleep. Heatherpaw was interested in checking in on Breezepaw, and telling him of how Firestar had reacted.

"Heatherpaw, you're back!" Breezepaw said happily.

"Hi Breezepaw!" Heatherpaw meowed happily. "You'll never believe what happened at the gathering…"

Heatherpaw told Breezepaw what had happened, going into extreme detail. He didn't seem all that shocked, but not uninterested, either. He had few questions.

"Was _he _there?" Breezepaw asked, his voice cold.

Heatherpaw shivered, knowing instantly who Breezepaw was talking about. "No, Lionpaw wasn't there," she told him. "He'll probably be stuck in the medicine cat's den for the next few moons, if you're telling the truth about the wounds you gave him."

Breezepaw grinned at him. "I can hope."

Barkface entered the den then, looking from Heatherpaw to Breezepaw. "It's getting late, Heatherpaw," he told her. "I think its time that you go to sleep and let Breezepaw rest."

"Of course," Heatherpaw meowed to Barkface. But before leaving, she added quietly, "I'll see you tomorrow, Breezepaw."


	7. Chapter 7

It was still another quarter moon until Breezepaw was allowed to leave Barkface's den.

Breezepaw had been near madness when Barkface eventually agreed to allow him to go back to his usual training. Breezepaw bored easily, and though the nights he spent talking with Heatherpaw were thoroughly enjoyed, the days were slow and boring to him. Barkface and Kestrelpaw talked to him, but they weren't very interesting, and often busy. Breezepaw had been considering sneaking out when Barkface finally announced he was free to go.

Heatherpaw, on the other hand, had been continuing on as usual.

Crowfeather trained her almost every day, and the days that she wasn't being taught, Heatherpaw hunted to feed the elders and the queens. She was the only apprentice still being trained, and therefore had to take full responsibility for the elders. Picking ticks off of their pelts and changing their bedding was not her favourite thing to do, but it wasn't horrible. While she worked, they would tell her stories, and she'd stay interested so that it seemed as if no time at all had passed.

But although Heatherpaw had been doing fine on her own, she had missed Breezepaw greatly. Guilt was gnawing away at her from the inside out when she saw him sitting on his bed, bored in the middle of the day. Heatherpaw made her best effort visit him as often as possible, but it seemed as if there wasn't enough time to fit in everything.

The first day after Breezepaw left Barkface's den, Whitetail was more than eager to get Breezepaw back into training.

"Breezepaw, Heatherpaw, you're both coming to training!" Whitetail called into the apprentices den early in the morning. "Get something to eat and meet Crowfeather and I at the Great Oak."

Heatherpaw groaned as soon as Whitetail left, but Breezepaw was already standing, stretching his legs and arching his back. "Come on, Heatherpaw!" he said excitedly. "I finally get to train again!"

Heatherpaw rose to her feet slowly, still exhausted. "Slow down. I haven't had as much rest as you, remember?"

Reluctantly, Breezepaw waited for Heatherpaw to rise and stretch her legs. But as soon as she was finished, he dashed out of the den and went straight to the fresh-kill pile. Choosing a rabbit from the previous night, he sat down and offered it to Heatherpaw. "Would you like to share?" he asked.

"Sure," Heatherpaw meowed, sitting down beside Breezepaw. He ate quickly, and Heatherpaw had to quicken her pace so that Breezepaw didn't eat all of the prey. As soon as Heatherpaw finished the last scrap, Breezepaw dashed to Whitetail's side.

"We're ready!" he announced proudly.

Training passed quickly that morning; the process sped up by Breezepaw's eagerness and pleasant mood. He was normally just as sharp-tongued as his father, but he had been amazingly nice that day. He hadn't snapped at anyone, and though he was never cruel to Heatherpaw, he was even nice to everyone else.

Whitetail quickly taught Breezepaw everything Heatherpaw had learned in his absence while Crowfeather practiced a few fighting moves she had recently learned. It didn't take very long, as Breezepaw wasn't required to practice and perfect the moves Heatherpaw had been.

Whitetail soon finished teaching Breezepaw the moves, and Crowfeather and Whitetail began to teach Heatherpaw and Breezepaw how to stage a sneak attack on an enemy Clan's camp. Heatherpaw had to wonder why they were being taught this. Surely Onestar would plan any attack, wouldn't he?

When training ended it was still a few hours before sunset. Crowfeather told the two to hunt for the elders, and then return back to camp.

"That was fun," Breezepaw said as they departed from their mentors' presence. "Did it really take you all that time to learn those moves?"

"I had to practice more," Heatherpaw retorted. "Crowfeather made me perfect _everything_. You just had to practice everything once, and then you got to move on."

Breezepaw shook his head. "Whitetail said that I'd have to practice them later. Besides, its not like I had it much better."

Heatherpaw fell into silence, agreeing with Breezepaw. Breezepaw hadn't had things any better, after all. He'd had the pain from the battle he'd been involved in, and afterward the boredom of having nothing at all to do. The poor tom had suffered a lot, and it was probably all Heatherpaw's fault.

Suddenly Breezepaw broke away from her side, dashing across the moor. When he returned, there was a dead rabbit dangling from his jaw. Heatherpaw smiled to herself. She'd almost forgotten the reason she was here.

Without another word she ran after another rabbit, with Breezepaw racing after her. The two apprentices hunted together happily.


	8. Chapter 8

Rain was pelting down on the moor, hitting WindClan cat foolish enough to have left camp. Though there was some small shelter in remaining at camp, there would be none for any cat who was out on the open moorland. Hunting was impossible, with all the rabbits having returned to their holes for the storm.

Lightning cut across the dark sky, thunder following soon after. The cats that were sheltered in WindClan camp shook with the earth as thunder rumbled across the ground. The fresh-kill pile was running low, but there was nothing that any cat could do but wait.

Just as the storm was hitting its peak, Weaselfur ran back into camp. The elderly ginger tom looked terrified. Though soaked, there was still some red visible on his pelt. _Blood_.

"Weaselfur!" Whitetail called out in surprise. Breezepaw tensed as his mentor yelled, and ran out into the rain.

"Foxdung," Breezepaw cursed under his breath, and ran out into the rain. Of all the WindClan cats, he was among those who hated the water the most. Though common in his Clan, Breezepaw had always recognizing his superior hatred for rain and storms, often avoiding the outside when such things struck. Now, however, it didn't seem as if he had a choice. His mentor was out there, and so was a single member of the border patrol, bleeding.

Heatherpaw was at his side in seconds, not having as much hatred for water as Breezepaw. Because of this, both apprentices were close enough to hear the quiet, choked words that Weaselfur uttered.

"A ThunderClan patrol… Ambushed us," Weaselfur choked, his breathing hard and fast. "Squirrelflight attacked me… Only let me go when I was half dead. I ran back as fast as I could, but… I couldn't go very fast. My leg… was bitten, and it took so long." There was sadness in Weaselfur's voice as he continued. "They were… Outnumbered. Didn't look good when I left… Hurry."

With that, Weaselfur collapsed. Heatherpaw rushed to his side, concerned for the tom. He wasn't the youngest of cats, and the battle injuries obviously hadn't done him well. From afar, his wounds didn't look very bad. But up close, Heatherpaw could tell that most of the blood had been washed away from the wounds. He had long scratches all down his body.

Breezepaw gave Weaselfur only a glance before dashing after Whitetail, who was going directly to Onestar's den. Though the tom had already left it, gone to see what all the commotion was about, he hadn't been there to hear Weaselfur's words.

Barkface arrived in only a few moments, and crouched at Weaselfur's side. Kestrelpaw was there in a few moments, helping Barkface take care of Weaselfur.

"You best go, Heatherpaw," Barkface meowed as he worked. "They may want you to help explain what Weaselfur said."

Heatherpaw nodded, though she was frozen in place. The blood had frozen in her veins, and all she could think of were Weaselfur's horrible wounds, and the one who had inflicted them. _Squirrelflight… the ThunderClan cat. Brambleclaw's mate_. _And… _Heatherpaw forced herself to think the final thing. _Lionpaw's mother._

All the cats of WindClan were beginning outside, asking one another what had happened. Whitetail and Breezepaw were speaking to Onestar, and Heatherpaw was the only cat remaining that knew what happened. She should have been telling them, but she couldn't help but think about Squirrelflight, about what she had done to Weaselfur… And Lionpaw.

Onestar appeared at the mouth of his den, Whitetail and Breezepaw on his either side. Onestar looked angry, outraged. Heatherpaw knew that Weaselfur was a close friend of his. This would be taken quite serious, she was sure.

Onestar quickly announced that they'd be attacking ThunderClan again, and called all the cats from the previous fight to him, with the exception of Weaselfur, who he replaced with Ashfoot. The other cats that had been with him for the first assault were already fighting. Among them was Crowfeather.

As Heatherpaw and Breezepaw were called to the fight, and both dashed through the storm wordlessly. Breezepaw was filled with anger fear, thinking only of Crowfeather already fighting. If his father had been harmed… Well, Breezepaw would gladly scratch out the eyes of anyone who had brought harm to him.

Heatherpaw, on the other hand, was more worried about a certain ThunderClan cat. It wasn't that she was worried about Lionpaw being hurt, but rather what she would do when she saw him. Heatherpaw had long since decided that fighting Lionpaw was the only way to put all this behind her, but it still didn't seem right. The time they had spent together, the friendship they had shared… It was too much to turn her back on so suddenly.

Just as they had previous, WindClan arrived at the fight very quickly—faster than it would have been possible for ThunderClan cats to. The fight was still going on when they arrived.

The ThunderClan patrol consisted of Squirrelflight, Brambleclaw, Hollypaw, Ashfur, Brackenfur, and Lionpaw. The WindClan cats were outnumbered, as Weaselfur had said, and were losing the fight. They would have been finished in no more than a few minutes if Onestar had not led the patrol into the fight.

Without thinking, Heatherpaw launched herself at Lionpaw. He looked shocked to find the small WindClan apprentice raking her claws down his back, but it didn't take him long to come out of the shock. He had soon spun around, unsheathed his claws, and began battling Heatherpaw.

Lionpaw was just as strong and brave as Heatherpaw remembered him, though he had learned some new fighting moves since they had last move. They didn't talk as they fought, unlike other older cats that were yelling insults at one another. Instead they locked fiery gazes, and fought as fiercely as they could.


	9. Chapter 9

The fight lasted longer than the first had.

When the fight had begun, it had just barely been sunset. But as the fight raged on, the sun slowly sunk below the horizon, and then came up from the other side of the fighting cats. It was past dawn when the fight finally broke up, and all the cats were exhausted and injured.

Heatherpaw had spent the best part of the night fighting with Lionpaw, as she had promised herself she would. Before sunrise came, however, Lionpaw had broken away from their fight in defeat. He had disappeared from sight then, perhaps to rest, or perhaps to fight an easier target. In any case, Heatherpaw had instead engaged in a fight with Hazelpaw, until the fight finally broke up.

Firestar was the first to yowl for retreat, but Heatherpaw knew that Onestar would have done the same in only a few more minutes, if given the chance. Without any comment about the battle, both leaders led their Clan away. WindClan, for once, travelled slowly. The many wounds that had plagued several cats in the Clan slowed them down to a gentle walk.

As soon as the border was out of sight, Onestar turned to Ashfoot, his deputy. She had fought well, but she hadn't been injured quite as badly as some others. She had a deep scratch across her face and a few, smaller scratches on her back and legs. Though she'd need treatment from Barkface, it would probably have to wait. Other cats were much worse off.

"Ashfoot, run ahead to the camp and tell the remaining cats what's happened," Onestar meowed. "Ask anyone who is able to come out and meet our group to help the worse injured cats get back."

Heatherpaw listened to Onestar intently, the best way to get her mind off the pain. Unlike Ashfoot, she had been pretty badly injured in the battle. But at the same time, she couldn't have felt better. Fighting Lionpaw hadn't been hard at all, and she had injured him pretty badly. He was probably feeling worse than she was right then.

Heatherpaw had many deep scratches all along her body, covering her face, her body, and her limbs. On top of that, there were several bite marks as well. Heatherpaw was limping, as her hind leg was engulfed in increasing pain. She probably would have collapsed long ago if not driven on by the satisfaction of her battle.

"Heatherpaw!" Breezepaw yelled, his voice filled with shock.

Heatherpaw looked at Breezepaw. He hadn't been very badly injured, with only a few scratches on his body, only one of them looking deep. Breezepaw wasn't limping at all, meaning that no serious damage had been done to his limbs, either. Heatherpaw smiled at him, glad that her friend at least was fine. But judging by his reaction, she didn't look so good.

"Who did you fight?" Breezepaw asked, his voice still filled with surprise. His eyes were focused on Heatherpaw's wounds, still exploring her body and finding more injuries that she had sustained.

"Lionpaw," Heatherpaw meowed, surprised to find that her voice was filled with anger. Though she could not consciously feel it, anger towards the tom was slowly building up inside her.

Breezepaw's pelt bristled at the mention of his name. _He's certainly building up quite a grudge against him,_ Heatherpaw thought. _First being my friend, then confining him to Barkface's den, and now this._

Before Breezepaw could say anything about Lionpaw, Ashfoot had returned. Following her were Kestrelpaw and Gorsetail. Heatherpaw was surprised; Gorsetail seldom left her kits. Though there were few warriors left in camp, it was still amazing to see that such a fight had earned a queen's departure from her kits.

Kestrelpaw's eyes swept over the cats that were returning, searching out those who were most injured. Almost immediately, Kestrelpaw was at Heatherpaw's side. She let out a sigh. She must really look bad if Kestrelpaw went straight to her…

"I guess I'll see you later," Heatherpaw meowed as they returned to camp. Kestrelpaw was rushing her into Barkface's den.

"Bye."


	10. Epilogue

**Three Moons Later**

All had been well in WindClan lately.

Since the battle with ThunderClan at the border, things had improved greatly. Peace had been made with ThunderClan, after they promised not to be caught on WindClan territory again. Though hostility still lingered in the air whenever the two Clans met, no battles would be fought anytime soon. All the wounds of the battle had been healed, and things had continued on normally.

Heatherpaw and Breezepaw had continued to train together, and Heatherpaw felt much happier after the battle. Perhaps it was simply knowing that Lionpaw was finally behind her. Or perhaps it was just knowing that Breezepaw trusted her in the entirety that Lionpaw ever had and more. Heatherpaw could never know if she would have been happier with Lionpaw, but she knew that she was happy with Breezepaw.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under the Great Oak for a Clan meeting!" Onestar called one night.

Breezepaw and Heatherpaw both arrived quickly, leaving half-eaten rabbit behind. Though the temperature was dropping lower and lower and normally, they wouldn't give up prey, Breezepaw and Heatherpaw knew why this meeting was being called, and they were nothing short of ecstatic.

"Breezepaw, step forward," Onestar meowed as the meeting began.

Gingerly, Breezepaw stepped forward. His head was bowed in respect, but it was also to hide a wide smile. It was finally happening! He was about to become a warrior!

"You have fought well to defend your Clan when you are needed in battle, and have done well to feed your Clan when they need it. It is time for you to become a warrior." Onestar spoke the words slowly, but they were not met by the slightest surprise from any cats in the crowd. Everyone knew that Onestar was going to make Breezepaw a warrior.

"From this day forward, you will be known as Breezefoot, a warrior of WindClan," Onestar meowed. "May StarClan recognize you as a full warrior."

"Breezefoot! Breezefoot!" the cats of WindClan cheered.

Breezefoot smiled widely and stepped away from his leader, returning to sit beside Heatherpaw. Heatherpaw looked at him for a moment, admiring the new warrior. Muscles rippled strongly under his pelt, and though he was slim and swift, he was probably stronger than any ThunderClan cat his age, not to mention faster than most WindClan cats. He really had grown into an amazing warrior.

"Heatherpaw, step forward," Onestar meowed, his eyes meeting Heatherpaw's excited green eyes. Without a word, Heatherpaw approached her leader, excitement getting bigger and bigger.

"You, too, have fought well to defend your Clan in its time of need, and your hunting skills have proved useful when your Clan finds itself hungry. Heatherpaw, it is time that you become a warrior." Once again, there was no surprise in the eyes of the cats of WindClan. Everyone had already known that Heatherpaw, too, would become a warrior. Breezefoot was not the only one who had been training especially hard lately.

"From this day forward you will be known as Heatherpelt. May StarClan recognize you as a full warrior of StarClan," Onestar meowed.

Heatherpelt licked Onestar gently on the shoulder, and then turned to look at the cats of her Clan. Each was cheering her name, congratulating her on being a warrior.

"Tonight, you will hold a silent vigil," Onestar meowed to just Heatherpelt and Breezefoot. "But tomorrow I'd like you to come to the gathering."

Smiles lit up both the faces of Breezefoot and Heatherpelt. The day could not have been going much better for the two, could it?


End file.
